Former Red Sox Exec Says Padres Purposefully Withheld Injury Information in Trades

Nov 21, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller speaks to the media during a press conference announcing the hiring of manager Mike Shildt (not pictured) at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

In recent years, the San Diego Padres have built a winning reputation as a smaller-market team in a division abundant with talent. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller assumed the position in 2014, and the franchise's success has been, in large part, because of him.

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Early in his Padres tenure, Preller was met with a scandal when the team traded left-hander Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox at the deadline. At the time, the Padres released a statement on behalf of Preller after and MLB's investigation concluded Preller would receive a 30-day suspension without pay.

"I accept full responsibility for issues related to the oversight of our medical administration and record keeping," Preller said. "I want to emphasize that there was no malicious intent on the part of me, or anyone on my staff, to conceal information or disregard MLB's recommended guidelines. This has been a learning process for me. I will serve my punishment and look forward to being back on the job in 30 days."

Nonetheless, former Red Sox executive Zack Scott recently revealed his own thoughts on the trade.

"When I was with the Red Sox in 2016, we traded top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to the Padres for Drew Pomeranz," Scott wrote. "Our medical staff reviewed the records San Diego shared and signed off on the deal.

"After Pomeranz reported, we discovered he was managing multiple health issues that were not disclosed to us. ESPN reported that the Padres instructed their athletic trainers to maintain two sets of files—one for internal use and a sanitized one for trade purposes. While MLB never divulged details, they investigated and concluded there was wrongdoing. GM A.J. Preller was suspended for 30 days (Take that, wrist!)."

While Scott certainly condemned Preller for his actions, he takes it a step further and insinuates other clubs no longer trusted making transactions with the Padres following the incident.

"The incident eroded trust so much that any subsequent transactions with the Padres were thought to need additional vetting by a third party," Scott added. "It exemplified the system’s vulnerability to exploitation and dependence on clubs exchanging information in good faith."

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